North East construction colleges get over £15m of funding to help get UK building
More of the builders and engineers of the future will get the opportunity to access the life-changing opportunity to gain the skills they will need for their careers thanks to the investment of over £15m in the region’s construction colleges.
The Department for Education (DfE) made the announcement today (December 15) during a visit to Sunderland College.
Colleges offer a range of vocational courses for teenagers and adults, enabling students to gain qualifications to become joiners, bricklayers, electricians, painter and decorators, and plumbers.
There is currently a demand for 1,390 extra places on similar courses across the region, and part of the funding will go towards filling that gap.
The investment in North East colleges is part of a national programme of £570m being invested to “expand training facilities and create additional places, to train the next generation of skilled workers”.
Metro mayors and local leaders will be given the power to decide how they use the funding to boost capacity in colleges ahead of an expected 67,000 extra 16- and 17-year-olds entering post-16 education by 2028.
A DfE spokesperson said: “This means communities can create training opportunities to rejuvenate local economies and provide pathways to good jobs, driving national renewal.
“Around £98.5 million of the funding will boost capacity specifically in construction courses to address growing college waiting lists across the country and help achieve the government’s goal to train 60,000 additional construction workers to build 1.5 million homes by the end of the Parliament.”
The funding announcement comes as applications open for colleges to bid to become one of the second wave of Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, defence and digital and technologies.
The 19 TECs, announced in the government’s Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper, add to the 10 already launched for the construction sector, which will train 40,000 construction learners by 2029.
In August, Sunderland College was named as one of the first 10 Technical Excellence College (TEC) allowing them to benefit from a share of £100 million.
T Level providers are also set to benefit from an £8.8 million capital funding boost for specialist industry-standard equipment for high priority areas, giving students access to the same technology used in industry.
A survey conducted by the Association of Colleges recently found that nearly one in three colleges reported they had had to limit or close apprenticeship courses in construction due to staffing or space challenges, more than any other subject.